in my lifetimeleads back to this: the firesand the black river of losswhose other side

is salvation,whose meaningnone of us will ever know.To live in this world

you must be ableto do three things:to love what is mortal;to hold it

against your bones knowingyour own life depends on it;and, when the time comes to let itgo,to let it go.

– Mary Oliver, “In Blackwater Woods”

Another back-to-school photo. Two girls in university: one in fourth year and one in first. I am so proud of my two young women.

On this last weekend of summer/first weekend of fall, I have to share one of my favourite recipes from the summer. These wonderful roasted green beans with cremini mushrooms are a classic. I made them the first weekend the fresh local green beans showed up in the farmers’ market, and I’ll be making them until they’re gone.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, toss the mushrooms thoroughly with 2 Tbsp of olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt. Spread out the mushrooms in one layer, cut side down, on one end of the sheet pan. (They can be close together.) Toss the green beans with 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt. Spread the green beans out in one layer on the rest of the pan. Roast until the green beans are shrunken and very wrinkled, and the mushrooms are tender, shrunken, and beginning to brown, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the remaining 4 tsp oil in a small nonstick skillet along with the garlic, rosemary, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Once the oil starts bubbling, cook for 1 minute to infuse the oil with the flavours and to soften the garlic. Remove the skillet from the heat and let sit while the vegetables finish cooking.

Transfer the cooked vegetables to a mixing bowl. Scrape the seasoned oil out of the skillet and over the vegetables; toss thoroughly. Transfer to a serving platter or dinner plates.

First, your girls are lovely! It's so hard for me to believe that my own little girl will be in university one day, but I know it'll come sooner than I think! Second, I looooove cremini mushrooms but I rarely cook with them because neither my husband nor my daughter are big mushroom fans. This is one of those dishes I'd gobble up at your house, since I don't usually treat myself to mushroom-y foods at home. =)

Dear Beth, beautiful girls – what a stunning picture! And, yes, the Roasted Green Beans and Mushrooms look exactly like the type of vegetable dish that I adore so much!What a lovely post dear friend!All the best,Andrea

Wow I am so happy to stumble across your blog. As the babysitter to dear Emily and Rachel when they were (3 and 6 months?) it's amazing to see them all grown up and at university. Congrats to all of you and lots and lots of love!

What a beautiful poem that's so fitting for your two beautiful girls. Good luck to them on another school year. My husband and son love green beans and one of these days I need to try this recipe. Thanks Beth!